Each person in his life, at least once, would have experienced emotional turmoil. This can be due to the loss of a loved one or a person close to you. Grief and bereavement cause serious damage to a person’s mental health and it is very important that a bereaved person recovers from the shock quickly as it may lead to life-threatening situations.

 A grief-stricken person goes through all kinds of emotions. Anger, shock, denial, fear are some of the common symptoms of grief. A bereaved person, at times shows stronger and deeper emotions that usual although those are appropriate reactions to the loss of a loved one. In such circumstances, the mental health of the person suffers a major set-back as he is emotionally unstable.

 Anyone who is bereaved due to the loss of a loved one goes through the following group of stages though it is worth noting that grief and bereavement is not just liked to death. A person may go through all these stages due many different types of loss such as divorce, a financial turmoil or a life-crippling accident.

 Shock and Numbness

 When a person hears the news about the demise of a loved one, his mind goes into a state of shock. It is too hard for the person to believe in the news when it is sudden and unprecedented. The body goes into the state of emotional numbness. The person is flooded with the feelings of disorientation and even simple tasks seem overwhelming.

 Such situations have negative effects on the mental health of a person as he goes into a dream-like state, feeling disconnected with the events and people around him.

 Disorganization and Disorientation of Thoughts

 The feelings of grief and bereavement are even deeper in this phase as the initial trauma of losing a loved one starts settling down in the person’s mind. Sleeplessness, anxiety and loss of appetite are some of the common physical reactions that a person goes through in these times.

 As the body and mind tries to cope up with the reality, emotional feelings such as anger and depression start to emerge. The person also undergoes a series of disoriented thoughts as he fails to gather his ideas and thoughts in the process of recovering from the shock. This causes stress and eventually affects the mental health of the person.

 Grief and Bereavement Recovery

 This phase starts as soon as the person’s mind is out of the shock and has settled down with the sudden loss in his life. The person starts talking about his loved one again and again which gives him comfort and pleasure. Sometime, this might become a bit irritating to the other person, but the onus lies on the family members or friends to give them company when they are down.

Reintegration

 The person has now dealt with the turmoil and is in the process of recovery. Now, he starts to get on with his life and his daily routine. Although the person is not completely able to forget the turmoil, nevertheless he realizes that it is only the person who is no more, but not the love for him/her. The mental health in this phase is far better than the initial stages and the person socializes well with everyone.

 Treatment

 After the loss of a loved one, it is obvious that the immediate family members grieve on the loss. However, there would be one such person who is close to the one who is dead. It is up to the other family members to give that person moral and emotional support and make him do things which give him pleasure. This would improve his mental health a great deal.

 The general advice to bereaving people is to indulge themselves into reading and music. They should read those books which they are fond of and listen to music which calms their mind and soothes their emotions. They should look for support groups which help in recovery smoothly and give them a feeling that they are not alone.

 Grief and bereavement issues are a part-and-parcel of everyone’s life, the intensity of which depends on how you feel about the person who died. Accepting the loss may take a long time and hence the healing process depends on the person. With matured thinking and control over emotions, you can avoid such issues affect your mental health.

Grief and Bereavement Issues and Recovery is a post from: Mental Health